Our Story

We moved to North Devon from Berkshire in 2016 along with our chocolate lab Bella and our two horses Shalinda and Roger, following our dream to own a farm and live a more sustainable lifestyle. We bought a totally off grid small holding, in need of serious attention with 8 acres and over the next few years fully embraced off grid living and being part of a wonderful community with a shared approach to life. Our small farm had allowed us to escape from busy working lives and given us the freedom we hoped for, also giving us the time to step back and really develop our vision for the future to offer unique holiday retreats and an opportunity for people to work with the horse and nature retreat programme. We both share a passion for the outdoors and a love for wild open, rugged and secluded spaces. Dean has a passion for fishing, growing up waist high in water and fishing the wilds of Scotland, Montanna and Dartmoor, whilst Judith always outdoors with dogs and horses, growing up on a farm in Northumberland. We know from experience just how important the environment and nature is for wellness and wellbeing and so while on a trip to the Scottish Highlands to collect our new puppy Sidney (big mistake!) we both knew this was the environment we were looking for to follow our vision. On our return to Devon we could not imagine finding somewhere so dramatic without moving a long way from our family which we could not even consider and also we had fallen in love with North Devon. A year later a chance trip to Exmoor blew us away and we could not believe how beautiful it was with the same rugged, wild landscape we adore. There it is! We found and fell in love with Heale Farm, hidden away at the end of a long lane in the tiny hamlet of Heale near Parracombe. With spectacular views of the sea and moors and within Exmoor National Park, it is a small hill farm with 23 acres of pasture, woodland and grazing rights over a further 18 acres of rugged Exmoor land. Forty years ago the farm was bought and restored by a family who turned it into a thriving dairy farm however over the years the original farmhouse and majority of land had been sold and the original farm buildings converted into a farmhouse and three self-catering barns. No farming activity had been carried out for a number of years and the machinery barn had been all but abandoned but for us it was absolutely perfect, our home, a place to grow our farming enterprise and our retreats. We love Heale Farm and since moving here in December 2019, we have added to our animal family with our six rare breed sheep and twelve chickens, all living happily alongside our horses. We have fully refurbished the self-catering barns, all reflecting our personality to offer wonderful holiday retreats. With our very special environment and our commitment to promote a healthier lifestyle we are now delighted to be able to share our passion for the outdoors and nature and offer our Horses and Nature Retreats and our Fitness and Wellbeing Move retreats. We completely loved living off grid and the huge benefits this brings and as part of our vision for the future of Heale Farm, we aim to move towards becoming more sustainable and environmentally friendly, working closely with Exmoor National Parks, local producers and the community, caring for nature and taking responsibility for what we do each and every moment.